Encroachments on service lane along Crawford Road RoB put road users at risk

Unauthorised encroachments by vendors cause congestion on narrow service lane, hindering traffic flow in Tiruchi's Crawford area.

Unauthorised encroachments by roadside vendors and eateries on the narrow service lane along the road over bridge (ROB) at Crawford in Tiruchi have been causing inconvenience to residents and road users.

As the stretch serves as a major access point to the locality where residential colonies, such as Anbu Nagar, Officers Colony, Gandhi Nagar and Bharathi Min Nagar, various educational institutions, temples and churches are located, it becomes jam-packed and congested during peak hours.

The lane is too narrow to accommodate two-way traffic, especially near Colony Main Road, and the stretch is prone to frequent traffic snarls. “Due to encroachments, the width of the roads has shrunk, making it unsafe for motorists. Commuters, including schoolchildren, find it difficult to negotiate the heavy traffic,” said S. Clement, a resident.

Residents allege that some shopkeepers have extended their commercial space by occupying the pedestrian platforms. Since roadside vendors and commercial establishments occupy the service road, the available road space has been used for unauthorised parking of vehicles on both sides, causing inconvenience to road users.

A few years back, city buses bound for Bharathi Min Nagar and Anbu Nagar entered Crawford via the service road, later, due to the decreasing width of the lane, buses were terminated. Now, residents from the area and nearby colonies are forced to walk more than 1.5 km to the bus stop.

In 2021, the state highways department evicted illegal encroachments occupying a portion of the service road. They planned to widen the service road as haphazard parking in the narrow lane was causing frequent bottlenecks during peak hours.

Despite several efforts by authorities to make the stretch free from encroachments and ensure the free flow of traffic, they keep mushrooming every day, hindering vehicular and pedestrian movement.